The present invention broadly relates to a method and apparatus for storing continuously arriving flat structures and, more specifically, pertains to a new and improved method and apparatus for storing printed products arriving in an imbricated product formation.
Generally speaking, the invention concerns itself with an improved method for the storage of printed products arriving in an imbricated product formation, such as typically relatively thick products like newspapers, periodicals and the like, wherein the printed products are infed to a winding core or drum and wound up upon such winding core or drum in conjunction with a winding band or tape which is under tension and operatively connected with such winding core or drum.
Equally, the invention concerns an improved apparatus for the storage of such printed products arriving in an imbricated product formation, such as newspapers, periodicals and the like, wherein there is provided a rotatable and driveably mounted winding core or drum, a conveyor device or arrangement for infeeding the printed products to the winding core or drum, and a winding band or tape which is under tension and operatively connected with the winding core or drum. This winding band or tape can be conjointly wound up onto the winding core or drum along with the printed products and can be wound off such winding core or drum along with the printed products.
It is already known in this technology to wind up upon a winding core or drum printed products arriving in an imbricated product formation. Significant in this regard are German Patent No. 2,207,556, published Aug. 30, 1973, German Patent Publication No. 3,123,888 and the cognate British Patent Publication No. 2,081,230 as well as German Patent Publication No. 3,151,860 and the cognate British Pat. No. 2,092,557. If the number of printed products to be stored in this manner is greater than the storage capacity of the product package or coil upon a winding core or drum, then upon attaining the maximum storage capacity of the product package or coil measures must be taken during the processing operation in order to be able to wind up the further continuously arriving printed products upon a new empty winding core or drum. For this purpose it is known during the storage of bags produced by a high capacity bag-making machine to provide two alternately chargeable winding stations. Of these two winding stations one of them is always fed with products, whereas the other winding station has removed therefrom the full package or coil. Significant in this regard is German Patent Publication No. 2,544,135. This procedure requires an appreciable amount of supplementary machinery due to the required doubling of the winding stations.